Tag: passport

Government has unveiled plans to limit emigration by tracking those leaving SA for more than three months.

Despite working on building a more inclusive South Africa with opportunities for all, the government’s solution is to try and limit the number of South Africans leaving the country.

Sounds unbelievable? Well, it is.

On Sunday, Rapport reported that cabinet has approved a piece of legislation – don’t worry, it’s not law yet – that would allow the department of home affairs to put a trace on all South African citizens planning to leave the country for more than three months.

According to BusinessTech, the Department of Home Affairs’ White Paper on international migration would be used as a means of keeping tabs on folks outside of the country and to try and limit the number of people looking to leave.

The document also outlines the department of home affairs’ plans on how to deal with the massive influx of African immigrants looking for greener pastures in Mzansi, with the controversial ‘open borders policy’ forming the backbone of said strategy.

Since Jacob Zuma wrestled control of South Africa away from Thabo Mbeki we’ve seen an upswing in South Africans emigrating to the UK and Australia and, according to the paper approved by cabinet, emigration has been increasing by about 9% year-on-year, with more and more black professionals looking to leave.

Following Jacob Zuma’s latest cabinet reshuffle and the subsequent ratings downgrade, the number of South Africans enquiring about emigration options has surged significantly… no surprises there.

So what does government propose: limit those leaving and track the rest, instead of focusing on inclusive economic growth.

The white paper is, reportedly, the first of its kind put forward by the department of home affairs, aimed at preventing – or limiting — South Africans from emigrating.